Don't Get Too Close
by BananaBreadParty
Summary: The events of the night take a drastic turn when Eyeless Jack is forced to bring a human girl back to the Slender Man Mansion when he is placed into an unfavorable situation. Little does he know that by doing so, the life that the creepypastas have come to know will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

_Hmm.._I thought to myself,_ neighborhood seems quiet, should be easy enough._

I emerged from my hiding spot behind the treeline and walked out onto the street, readjusting my mask for good measures. There were very few street lamps, and the night sky was pitch black, so I could move without having to worry about being spotted. It was a small neighborhood, nothing more than a few blocks, encircled by dense woods; and all of its residents were either asleep or out for the night. I silently made my way down the road, taking in my surroundings. I turned towards the first house at my left, a simple one story building, concrete steps, lots of windows.

_No biggy. _I climbed the steps to the front door, but before I even touched the door knob I saw the small camera placed above the door. I looked down again at the handle and found a small sensor that had been placed around it. Alarms. Great. For a small neighborhood they sure take a lot of precautions, which in this case saved them...at least for now. Reaching up, I opened up the back of the camera and pulled out the cartridge. I hadn't been caught before, and I didn't plan to break that record because of a rookie mistake. I jumped off of the steps and continued my search for my next victims. I decided upon another home, not too far down the street. It had wooden porch, two floors, and a large oak tree that stretched up to a window.

_Perfect. _I was more careful this time, observing the house from all sides for any security devices before quickly scaling the tree out front. Looking into the house from the branch I was perched on, I saw a desk with a computer, a railing that lead down a set of stairs, and four doors; two on either side of the steps. One of which was partially opened, and I was able to make out several posters lining the walls.

_Looks like they've got kids. _I leaned forward for a better look, and nearly fell out of the tree when a large set of vibrant green eyes were suddenly on the other side of the glass. "Ugh_,_cats," I mumbled to myself, "I fucking hate cats_." _The animal left as fast as it came, and I was able to go on with my business without any further distractions. I carefully opened up the window, and landed lightly on the plush carpet inside. I crept down the hallway towards the doors on my right, where the only light on the entire street seemed to be coming from. One door led to a bathroom, and another to a large bedroom. _Guessing these are their parents. _I thought, noting the two large figures underneath the covers. I turned and left the room, then came up to the first door on the opposite side of the hall. The one that was open beside it reeked of perfume so strong I was practically gagging.

_Must be their daughter._ I turned the handle and the door opened easily. I peeked in and saw a small white desk, TV, and a bunk bed at the far end of the room. A also noticed a laptop resting on top of the vanity, along with several games stacked up alongside an xbox next to the TV. Hanging on the walls were an assortment of Minecraft posters-even a calender, and a green Minecraft hoodie draped across the top bunk.

_Gamer, huh? Ill have to tell Ben about this one. _I slowly entered the room, but had taken no more than a few steps when I was stopped. There were a few rustling noises behind me and then came a low, guttural growl. I turned my head to see a dog-a HUGE dog, standing in the doorway of the parents' room. _Shit! _I thought, _A DOG? How did I miss their DOG!? _I couldn't even tell what breed it was but it was big, and must have been a mutt of some sort. Maybe a mix of, I don't know, boxer and...what, elephant? I would've slapped myself if the forehead for being so stupid if it didn't mean giving away my almost blown cover. Oh and the situation got even better. I heard a small groan from the kid just a few feet away and saw them turn over in their bed. _No don't get up! Go to sleep! God, where's Jeff when you need him? _

Too late, the little twerp was already rolling over and pulling the blankets over themselves.

"Frannie, come on, its too early for this." It was at this moment when I realized that it wasn't a kid at all, it was a girl; maybe a couple years younger than me. The girl stood up and threw on the hoodie I had seen earlier, and started to walk towards me. But before she reached me she stopped and reached for something on the desk, which she accidentally knocked off onto the ground.

"Shit." she swore to herself and crouched down, searching the floor for whatever she dropped. While the girl was distracted I quickly thought through all of my possible options:

Kill the girl now, fend off the mammoth ( which was sure to attack once I was finished with her), and jump out the window before I'm seen

Kill the girl, and try to jump out the window before Beasty beats me to it

Find a way to sneak around them both, and make it to the exit the while the girl distracts the Sasquatch

_Oh the options to chose from! _Slender would definitely be mad if I got caught in the act, and Jeff would never let go of the fact that I was caught off guard by some human and her mutt-_ seriously what __**is **__that?! Baby grizzly wandered too far from the cave? _Plus it's almost sunrise. If I don't kill soon ( and I mean **soon**) I'll most likely get my access to the human world suspended. All of these thoughts raced through my head as the girl crouched down and searched for the object she knocked over. At another glace I saw that they were glasses, which explained the struggle she was having finding them, even in the faint light coming from the room a short ways away.

She brushed aside a piece of loose paper on the floor in the process of locating her glasses; a drawing, in fact. _Great, _I groaned internally as I saw the sketch, depicting Jeff and Smile, _yet another fangirl._ _Might as well do it now, while she's busy._ I silently pulled the scalpel from my back pocket. I raised it over my head, causing another growl to escape from that behemoth's mouth, and made an attempt to swipe at the girl's neck when I again froze mid swing when she abruptly stood up.

"_Alright, _alright, I'm coming ya big oaf." Without retrieving her glasses, she once again walked in my direction. I again prepared to strike, although the preparation was not needed. She walked right past me into the hallway. **Right past me! **Didn't even glance in my direction, not once! _Guess we're going with plan C then..._All I had to do is wait for her to distract the devil's lap dog and I'd be home free.

"Okay Fran what is it? Need to go outside? Is that it girl?" she questioned the dog in a

hushed voice. The only response she got as shallow grunt as the dog made another cautious step towards me. "Hey now," the girl whispered as she knelt down beside the dog, "whats gotcha all worked up?" She stroked the bristled hairs on the dog's back , "There's nothing there Frannie, just your imagination again. No need to get hostile."

_Gosh I love irony. Here the mutt is trying to protect her from a serial killer, one here to slaughter her and her entire family (along with that stupid cat if I get the chance) and shes brushing the gorilla to the side like its nothing. Maybe things are turning in my favor after all. _

The girl noticed the open window and went over to shut it. I was luckily still out of sight inside her room, so she didn't see me standing there; to the window, or on her way back over to the dog. Speaking of the monstrosity, it made another attempt to step closer to me, but was stopped short by the girl's arm. "That's enough..."she yawned, "for one night Fran. Back to bed, come on." At first the dog didn't budge, and let out a sound that started out as a snarl, but turned into a whine as it looked up pleadingly at the girl's face. "No, I know you wanna protect us but there isn't anything there, lets go girl." She stood and ushered the animal back into the room it had come from. Once fuzz-face was in, she leaned in and turned off her parent's TV, and gently closed the door after whispering "good night" to the dog. She then turned, took a few steps towards her room, and looked up. That's when she finally saw me.


	2. Chapter 2

She didn't move, not one inch. I half expected her to start jumping up and down with excitement like the last few creepypasta fans I've encountered, but she didn't. She didn't look that much afraid either; mostly shock and confusion was played out across her face.

_Ah, the glasses. _I thought. The girl must still not be able to see me to clearly. Well, let's fix that, shall we? I took two steps towards her. Nothing. Then another, yet still no change. It wasn't until I had fully left her room and entered the hallway when it hit her, and her mouth fell open.

_There's the recognition I was looking for! _Can't say I'm not offended when my own fans don't recognize me. No matter, now that that's cleared up, where were we? She still wasn't moving at all, frozen from fear. She looked so confident just a few short moments ago, now all I saw in her eyes was horror, and regret for not heeding her dog's warnings. Ah well, shouldn't waste anymore time than I already have. I pulled out my syringe and slowly advanced; preparing for any sudden movements she may make. Which she did, just as I reached her she made an attempt at turning back towards her parent's room. I lunged out, grabbing the hood of her sweater and pulled her back towards me. I released her hood and wrapped an arm around her to hold her in place while I prepared the injection. But it didn't stop there.

The girl kept fighting against me, squirming in my grasp. She kicked and shook and somehow managed to get an arm free and elbow me in the ribs with all her strength, knocking the air out of my lungs. I faltered only for a moment, but that's all she needed to escape my hold and start running back down the hall. I again rushed after her, this time grabbing her by the back of the throat and stabbing the vial deep into her neck. I quickly pushed down the plunger and let her go, and she immediately fell to the floor in a heap. I stood there over her for a moment trying to catch my breath.

_Ow, she actually hit me pretty hard. _Whatever, the poison is running through her veins and she'll be dead within minutes. I stepped over her to check and make sure that the little fight she put on didn't wake anyone. Once I was sure that everyone was still asleep, I went back over to the body on the floor. As I knelt beside her, I realized something was wrong.

Well for starters she wasn't dead, which was a big problem. That poison should have taken over her nervous system, paralyzing her, which at least that seemed to have worked. Then it moves through the bloodstream, shutting down all arteries and eventually all of her vital organs. That part didn't seem to be in full effect. Another thing: her veins were all standing out, and were _green. _Which is the color of the serum, which could only mean that her body was trying to reject the poison...that part, I didn't expect.

That couldn't be right, I've had that recipe perfected for years, why would it suddenly lose its potency? Its a lethal injection. _Lethal _injection-what about that was so hard to understand? As I sat there puzzling I heard a noise come from the nearest room-it sounded like whimpering, followed by whispers coming from behind the door to my right. Was the dog waking them up? I rolled up my sleeve to look at my watch, and found that it was almost a quarter to 6:00 am. Crap! I was late! I stood up and ran to the window, and right as I was about to climb through it I stopped. I couldn't just _leave_ the girl here, she saw me already! Sure they might think she's a lunatic for believing a supposedly fictional character had snuck into their home and tried to kill her, but I still left too much evidence behind. The open window, the markings on her neck from my glove, and finding her lying stiff in the middle of the floor? Never a good sign.

Slender is gonna be _so _pissed when I get back.

I had no choice. I had to take her, I'm pretty sure Slenderman will find some way to put her to good use. So I got the girl and lifted her up over my shoulder, went back to the ledge, and jumped.


	3. Chapter 3

"Jack! What is the meaning of this?" I trudged through the door with the girl still slung over my shoulder, ignoring Slender's question. I had just spent the last few hours carrying this chick back through the woods to the mansion, and I was in no mood to talk. Like I had a choice. I was forced to drop the girl when I was suddenly grabbed by a dark black tentacle and spun around.

"You of all people should know not to ignore me, Jack." Slender warned, "Now don't make me ask again."

"Alright, alright fine, sorry." I apologized, and was released out of the tall figure's grip. Slenderman listened intently as I quickly recalled the events of my last trip to the human world.

"So I had no choice but to bring her back-" I had to pause after a few minutes to catch my breath "if I didn't then the authorities might have found enough evidence left behind to track us back here."

"There is no possible way for mortals to enter our realm themselves." Slender pointed out.

"Yeah, but they could have traced me back to the portal and waited for one of us to come back. Plus there might have been more houses with cameras, and even though it was still dark they could have seen me."

Slender was quiet for a few moments before saying "Why couldn't you just have removed any traces of you being in the child's house? Lead her on to assume it was all nothing more than a dream?"

"I _couldn't!_" I explained desperately "The parents were waking up! It was a fight or flight moment, and I chose flight okay?" It was becoming frustrating, having to explain my point over and over, and I could tell that he was getting tired of having to listen. "And I thought that I don't know, we could use her or something. She could watch Sally or Smile when we go out, or give her to Ben, she likes games too. At least until I figure out what went wrong with the serum." Slender Man just sighed.

"I don't think keeping this mortal is a good idea Jack. Sally would definitely like to have someone to stay with her-"

"See! Sally _has _been complaining about how often we leave her alone at the mansion, so this-"

"Please, Jack." Slender raised one of his long slim hands " Smile doesn't like humans, you should know that. You should also remember what happened the last time Smile got to one of Sally's playmates." I did remember. Sally's grief lasted a full three seconds before going completely mad and chasing down everyone in the house in a fit of rage. I unconsciously rubbed my shoulder, thinking back to the kitchen knife she had taken from Jeff and then hurled at me.

"Come on Slender, I need this girl here. How else am I going to figure out the problem with the toxin?" "Hmm..." was the only response I got. He sat there for several more minutes before finally caving in with a deep sigh. "Alright, but before you do anything, make sure Ben puts her though the test first. Something seems familiar with this particular human, but I just can't put my finger on it..." he trailed off and walked away, leaving me alone. It was a small victory, convincing Slender of anything, but a victory none the less. Now, I have to get this girl to Ben for the test. He's probably up in his room like always.

I started to head down the hallway before stopping to look back over at the girl still slumped on the floor.

_She's alright for now. Not like she's going anywhere. _I continued down the hall, made a few turns, went up a flight of stairs and finally made it to Ben's room. I opened the door and found him sitting on his couch playing some...random gunman-people-shooting-sniper game with all the lights off.

"Dude I got something for you downstairs." I said, although he barely acknowledged me standing in the doorway. "Ben, seriously come on..."

"Hang on," he replied without taking his eyes off of the screen, "just let me...finish this..." aaand he's gone again. "Come on, I need you to come check this out, Slender's orders. Just pause the game or something." With that the screen went black, along with the rest of the room. A moment later Ben walked out of the darkness shaking his head.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Jack, one does not simply..._pause _the game." he stated.

"But you did just now."

"No, I quick-saved at a checkpoint and exited the mission."

"So, you paused the game."

"Ah Jack, you have so much to learn." With that he lead the way back through the maze of halls to the room where I had left the girl lying. When we arrived, Jeff was standing next to her, nudging her arm with the toe of his boot. He looked up when he saw us enter the room.

"Why's this here?" he asked, pointing at the girl, "Or have I just never noticed the half-dead human sprawled out on our carpet until now?"

"No Jeff," I said "I had to bring her back alive. "

"Well I know you like your kidneys fresh man, but you didn't have to go an order take out." Him and Ben laughed as I stood there fuming under my mask.

"I had no choice but to bring her back!" I yelled. I was getting tired of all the criticism from this.

"So that's why you brought me down here?" Ben said, "For this? Sorry if you can't handle _one _kid on your own Jack, but if you think I can help you redeem yourself, then you're out of luck."

"Yeah," Jeff added, "Bad enough that you're asking for help from the guy whose greatest technique is disguising himself as a jump-scare." Ben started to laugh along with Jeff, but then stopped and gave him a nasty glare.

"Ugh, never mind. Ben just take her to the room and give her the test, I'm leaving."

"Shouldn't you come with-"

"LEAVING!" I shouted while throwing my hands up in the air as I stalked out of the room. I was tired and frustrated, and I swear if I had to hear another remark about bringing that girl back I was going to lose it.

_Maybe keeping her here was a bad idea after all, Slender _is_usually right. Although, there's still the off chance that Ben will run into just as many problems as I had. _I mischievous grin spread across my face at the thought. _Maybe I should go with him for the test after all, and see how _he_copes with the unpredictable teen. _


	4. Chapter 4

I awoke with a start. Where was I? What's going on? What's happening? I was laying on my stomach somewhere, that's all I could tell. The right side of my head was pounding, like I had fallen. I didn't remember falling. Actually I couldn't remember much of anything. I tried to think back as far as I could, but nothing came up that explained anything that was happening...whatever it is that's happening now. There was a strange, heavy pain in my chest, gosh why was it so hard to breathe? Oh, right, still facing the ground. I slowly pulled my aching limbs beneath me and pushed myself up, and found that I was laying on top of something.

_Paper? Is this math? It must be, I think I recognize some of these equations too..._

I was laying on a soft, plush surface, and there was a noise coming from somewhere... from something wadded up in my hair. After much resistance from the object, I managed to untangle it and discover a pair of black headphones, still playing music at an unreasonably high volume. I sighed in relief as I finally realized what had happened. I had simply fallen asleep doing my homework.

_Of course I did, _I thought, _I can barely focus on my work at school, sitting in those brutal metal desks. Why did I ever think that the comfort of my own home would be any better? _I searched through the blankets for my phone and turned off the song. I looked over at my alarm clock and saw that it was close it 1:30. Wow, I must have slept for a while. Weird though, I don't remember ever falling asleep...or doing homework...ah well. I simply brushed the thought aside, it wasn't important. I should still probably finish the work though, only had a few more problems to do. I got re-situated in my spot on my bed and picked up the pencil lying next to me. It only took a few minutes and I was done. I shoved the work into my math book, and returned the supplies back into my bag; both of which rested at the foot of my bed.

Now that that was done, I could finally go to sleep-intentionally this time. But before I turned off the lamp positioned next to my clock, I felt that I should get a drink first. Just that sudden dying thirst for water once you get comfortable, happens all the time. Swinging my legs over the side of my bed, I stood up and stretched. Once I was standing though, I became extremely lightheaded, and the edges of my vision started to go black. I grabbed the side of my bed for support, and blinked several times before my vision cleared.

_ I must have stood up too fast, and gotten a head rush. Wait, why did I get up again? Water, right. _It was a bit odd, I thought while putting another hand up to my head. It's been a while since I've gotten a head rush. Even though I used to get them all the time when I was little, the problem just sort of went away.

It was over though, and it doesn't matter anymore. Well, of course it does, there must have been some reason for it to randomly happen again. But it went away, so I should just go and get water while it's gone, before it happens again. Although I'm not sure why it would happen _after _standing up. It usually only happens when you change position suddenly, not just walking around...what was I doing? Another wave of pain flooded through my skull as I stood there thinking. Maybe I really am just dehydrated. My head cleared after that last thought, and I was able to move towards my door.

_I forgot to put on my glasses. _I remembered. At least I was remembering _something _tonight. I shouldn't really need my glasses though, I'll be fine without them. But then again, I could trip on something in the hallway. There should be enough light from my lamp, I don't need to worry about that.

The nauseating feeling returned, and my head starting to spin again. Why was it happening again? I didn't move too quickly, did I? No, I don't think so. I probably did, I should really take it easy on my way to the bathroom for a drink. No, I should still take my glasses. But I really don't need them, I'll be fine. It doesn't really make a difference whether I wear them or not. I really don't even feel like getting them now, I'll just get my cup and make it quick. Strangely, I felt relieved when my hand skipped over my eyeglass case and picked up the plastic cup on my desk.

Once I had the cup in my hand, I walked to my door and took hold of the the handle. For some odd reason, I had the feeling that I shouldn't go...I can't explain what I felt exactly, but I just...couldn't. It's like my instincts were going bizzerk screaming "Don't go! Whatever you do, do not leave this room!" It's just the hallway, there's nothing to worry about. I'm just being paranoid again. Right, it's all my imagination. Turning the handle, I opened the door. But right as I was about to step over the threshold, that ache started up again.

_I do need my glasses, what am I thinking I can barely see!" _They're just a few feet away, I can still get them. No, I don't, I don't need my glasses. I should just go out, get a drink, everything will be okay. But I can't see well. I can see enough, the lamp shines enough light in the hall-I can see the bathroom door from here. Yeah, it's not far at all. Just out into the loft and to the right like it always is...wait the _right_? The bathroom isn't to the right, it's down the hall to the left. Why is it there? It's not there, that's my sister's room. I'm tired, I must not be thinking clearly. Yeah...No, that's not her room. Her's is directly next to mine, next to the stairs...where are the stairs? They're right there, it's just too dark to see them. Why do I keep arguing with myself?

The pain coursing through my head was getting worse; the worse it's ever been since all those years ago. I didn't know what was happening. I dropped the cup and threw both hands to the sides of my head, I just couldn't shake the pain away, _why _was it getting worse?

_I can't leave, yes I can. NO, I do-don't, yes I'll just go! But I can't! Ah! I just want to go back to bed! It's no big deal I can get water in the morning! I need a drink of water first! It'll take no time at all! I don't want to!_

_ Just__** go**__ you've been down this hall thousands of times, I guarantee you'll be fine!_

I froze. The thoughts in my head becoming as still as my once shaking hands.

...that wasn't my voice...


	5. Chapter 5

When I got to the testing room, Ben had already started. The place was set up kind of like those interrogation rooms you'd see in police stations. It was a large, empty gray room without windows, a one-way mirror for us to observe through, and only one door that lead to a smaller room connected to it; the room Ben and I were currently in. Ben was in front of the glass pane, a look of concentration on his face. The test was simple enough: whoever was being considered being made into a proxy would be knocked unconscious then put into the testing room. Then either Ben or Slender would try to break into their mind and try to control them, and alter their senses to put them under the pressure of various situations and see how they react. Its all to make sure that the person won't go _completely _insane when staying with us; to see if they can handle it here.

Behind the glass, the girl was standing up, and holding on to some imaginary object for support. She looked like she was about to fall over, which proxies up for debate usually did become a little lightheaded during the test. She shook it off and started walking forward, but then she stopped and looked over to her right. She held out her hand, as if to reach for something. She stood like that with her arm stretched out for quite a while, with a confused look on her face. The girl started to sway again, worse than before, but it wasn't only her feeling the effects of whatever reality she was put into. I looked over at Ben who started to look pale (at least more than usual). His eyebrows were furrowed together and his mouth pressed into a firm line. I wondered why he was having so much trouble with this. Although seeing him struggle with "one stupid kid" was satisfying on my part.

It wasn't until the girl steadied herself long enough to reach out further and grab something in the air when Ben finally relaxed a little. She kept her hand held up close to her body, as if holding something, and took a few more steps forward. She held her other hand out and twisted it, then took a step back as she swung her arm outward. She seemed very hesitant about going any further, which seemed to frustrate Ben even more. She'd look around herself, take a slow step forward, but then would quickly draw back. This continued for a few minutes: one step closer towards a possible threat, only to immediately take it back. Each movement that the girl took only seemed frustrate Ben even more. I couldn't help but wonder what it was that she was seeing; what was causing her to act like this?

Her face slowly changed from a look of confusion to hopelessness with each passing minute. She began to shake, and she grabbed the sides of her head as she shook. Ben didn't seem to be in much better condition either. His hands rose to dig at his own skull and began to grind his teeth. He wasn't even looking at her now; his eyes were squeezed shut.

"Ben, are you alright man?" I go no response as his look of pain increased. Okay, this was getting out of hand. "Ben, that's enough," I insisted, "you gotta stop." All I got was a quick shake of the head and wave in my direction. The girl in the other room sank down to her knees, touching her forehead to the floor. I could see that her breathing was ragged, and it looked as if she might be crying.

_ Alright this has gone on long enough,I'm stopping this myself. _But before I could take any course of action, Ben suddenly straitened and gasped, his eyes now opened wide. The girl had stopped shaking, and raised her head, looking around the room.

"What?" I asked Ben, "What did you do?" Ben didn't move or say a word, he just stared ahead in disbelief.

The girl was now quietly talking to herself, as she checked her surroundings. I don't think she could see the room just yet, but she definitely knew something was wrong. She made a strange face, as if she couldn't grasp what was happening, but then she started talking again, this time loud enough for me to hear.

"I..who...who are you? _Where _are you?" she demanded. She got to her feet and spun in a circle.

"Where are you?" she stated louder. "Leave! Leave me _alone!_" Ben then looked back at the girl again and squinted his eyes, but then recoiled and threw his hands up in defense as though he had been hit in the face.

She started to scream, "NO! Get out of my head! _Get out!_" She dropped back to the ground and tucked herself into a ball. I looked back over at Ben who had one hand on the wall for support as he caught his breath.

"Ben, what _was _that!" He just shrugged, still not able to speak. I quickly opened up the door that led to the next room and approached the girl. I was only a few feet away from her but she didn't acknowledge me. I tried to talk to her but she didn't answer to that either. After a while, Ben was able to recuperate, he came in and stood on the opposite side of the girl.

"How long is she going to sit like this?" he asked. I raised my shoulders,

"I'm not sure, could be a while." I hear some shuffling from the other side of the glass and Jeff soon came through the door to join us.

"What's taking the test so lo-oh, what happened to her?" he said, noticing the girl curled up on the ground. I was the first to respond.

"We aren't exactly sure. It was going alright, then Ben must have lost control because she just-"

"I DID NOT lose control!" Ben said defensively, "She hadn't been responding well since the test first started, I could barely get her to focus at all. I'd gain some ground then she'd take it back, it went back and forth like that the whole time. No one has ever fought back before."

"Fought back...what was she last up against?" I asked. This was all so unusual, I didn't think mortals could resist being controlled at all.

"I didn't even get her to the first test."Ben groaned.

"Seriously guys, what the hell is she doing?"

"We don't know." Jeff knelt beside her and poked her head.

"How long has she been like this?" he asked. I answered again.

"A while." Jeff stood back up and walked around the girl, occasionally commenting 'hmm' or 'interesting' as he inspected her. He once sat down next to her and just stared with a nasty glare and a wicked grin on his face. She slowly picked up her head out of her lap to meet his eyes, her face still stained with tears. She gave no reaction to Jeff's efforts. They just sat there for a while, neither of them looking away. Jeff eventually sighed and got back on his feet, while the girl put her head back down.

"Well?" I asked. Jeff just put his hands of his hips, his eyes still on her.

"Way to go Ben, you broke it."

"What!" he exclaimed.

"You're the one that did this, so its your fault. Plus, besides Slender Man you're the only one that can reach into a person's mind and drive them insane. Nice job though, very effective." Jeff added with a thumbs up.

"How was I suppose to know this would happen?" Ben protested, " Jack's the one that insisted she stay here, so I think he should fix this." he said crossing his arms at me.

"Well, that do you want me to do?"

Jeff was the one to answer that, "You know a lot about medical-y-science junk, give her something to calm her tits."

I threw my hands up. "What do I look like, a pharmacist? I don't just carry around a cabinet full of prescriptions with me, Jeff." We continued to argue, not knowing that Slender Man had teleported into the room.

"So," he cut in through our shouts, "I am assuming that the test did not go as planned?" We all immediately stopped talking and turned our attention to the large figure. Ben was the first to speak.

"Yeah, she almost completely ignored my commands. I could barely keep tract of her consciousness too, her brain waves were all over the place-plus she was able to see through my cover and actually trace it back to _my _mind!"

"Wait, cover?" I said, none of this was making any sense. Slender turned to me and calmly explained, "The cover is what we are forced to use as a last resort. Sometimes a human may be too difficult to control in a state of panic. So instead of directly controlling them, we must plant our thoughts into their minds and disguise them as their own; make them sound like themselves, feel like their emotions."

"Yeah, and somehow she knew it wasn't herself, and she saw through it and read my own thoughts." Ben told him. Slender didn't seem at all shocked by the news he was hearing. Then again, it was kind of hard to see what he was thinking. Slender turned to me now.

"Jack, was this girl's home near the woods, or any source of water?"

"Woods definitely, but I'm not sure about water. It was pretty dark last night." I admitted.

"It most likely was. I thought I recognized this human from somewhere, and from what I've heard , then this is definitely the child I'm thinking of." He's met her before? Why didn't he tell any of us about it then? It's not like him to let one of his victims live. Unless he erased their memory of the event. Which how could he of if he even said himself that she was too difficult to control?

"You must all have many questions about this, so I'll try to answer them all briefly." He cleared his throat and continued.

"It was quite a few years ago, when I first encountered this child. Sally had taken an interest in my ability to control others, and asked if I could teach her. Not wanting to disappoint her, I decided to give her a few lessons. I took her out into the human world, and her and I traveled to a few different locations to practice. She had such a difficult time in the beginning; she would get so frustrated and pout, and demand to be taken home." He paused and chuckled to himself, laughing at the memory.

"After a while, she got better of course, and I was soon confident that she was ready to take bigger challenges. In this case, smaller challenges."

"That doesn't even make sense Slender." Jeff budded in. Slenderman just sighed in annoyance.

"I was getting to that, Jeff. Adults are of course more mature, so their brain pattern is steady and easily readable. Children, on the other hand, have proven to be more difficult to control, since they have not yet learned to manage their own imagination. This is the task I presented Sally with, attempting to command a _smaller _subject. Do you understand now Jeff?" Jeff just grunted and crossed his arms. "Very well. Now this is were our...guest here comes in." He made a small gesture to the still unresponsive girl sitting in the middle of us,seemingly unaware of our presence.

"This was the first child I told Sally to practice on, and it proved more challenging than she expected from the start. We first found her in her room, playing with her sibling one evening. At the time she was very young, perhaps four years old or so. Sally tried to command the girl to stop, but she didn't respond. Another try and all she did was stall for a few moments before returning to her game. Sally of course was tired at this point, and she had asked me to show her how to do it. I thought a demonstration might benefit her, so I did as she asked.

This child had a very unusual brain pattern, and not just for someone her age. Even I could not seem to gain any advantage over her mind's functions. This seemed like the perfect time to show Sally how to manipulate emotions, however. With this method I was able to make her very angry at her older sibling, and she got up and hit them. The child's reactions were quite intriguing, so for about a year and a half after that I continued to take Sally to this girl's home to train her. What fascinated me the most was that it seemed as though each day her and I would go to the girl's home, it would become increasingly harder than the last time to influence the child."

Jeff intervened again, "So she developed an immunity? Is that even possible?"

"Jeff please, I am getting to that." Jeff put up his hands in defense. "By all means, continue."

"May I? As I was saying, it became increasingly difficult to manipulate this one over time. I do not believe she had become immune, however, I do suspect that our efforts had unlocked a certain gift within her."

"A gift?" I said, a little too eagerly, " You mean that she could be one of us?"

"Perhaps." Slender answered. "It seemed as though she was able to counter our moves against her mind, allowing her to subconsciously protect her own thoughts. She of course was too young to realize what had been happening, but it appears that it may have caused some long lasting effects."

He was quiet for a moment as he studied her. "You might be right Jack, if we can unlock her full potential she may of great use to us." Luckily none of them could see the smile that I couldn't hold back under my mask.

"But," Slender added, "she will be _your _responsibility Jack. If she gets into any trouble it'll be on your hands." he said sternly. I nodded back at him. "She will be staying in Sally's room with her, I believe she has an extra bed there. Take her there, and introduce her to Sally tomorrow morning. I'm sure she will be very eager to meet her." I nodded again. I was more than happy to show her to Sally's room, but I still didn't know how to get her to move. Apparently I didn't need to worry about that, because Slender Man took care of that right before he left.

"Child, please stand." Obediently, she wiped her face and got to her feet, not looking at any of us. "Jack here will take you to the room you will be sharing with Sally. You will listen and do as he says, correct?" She nodded. "Good. I will see all of you tomorrow." With that he vanished from the room, leaving a chilling feeling in the air.

"I say we kill her." I quickly spun my head around.

"Jeff. Seriously."

"What?" He said innocently, "She seems to be more trouble than it's worth. Just my opinion. Do what you want though, as long as I get to off her when the time comes." He moved over to her and said spoke into her ear. "The sooner you get to sleep, the sooner you'll wake up from the nightmare." He laughed evilly in her face. She simply held her head up, looked him dead in the eyes, and with a steady voice said,

"None of this is a dream." Jeff just leaned back and said in an annoyed tone. "Ah, you're no fun." and finally left. I looked over at Ben, who just shrugged.

"Your problem now." he said, and followed after Jeff. It was just her and I now, and she looked at me expectantly.

"Well, Sally's room is this way..." I said awkwardly. She nodded again and wordlessly followed as I lead her back out of the testing room and into the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

(The girl's POV)

I was sitting up the instant my eyes popped open, gulping in large breaths of air. I used the back of my hand to wipe the sweat accumulated on my forehead. Why was I breathing so heavily? Why was I laying down? Whose bed was this? What room was I in? Where was this room? Where was I ?

That's when it all came flooding back to me, flashing images recollecting the events of the previous night. The dog's growling, the burning pain coursing through my body, the dizziness, the panic, the dark room, the deep blue mask and black, empty sockets...

I looked over at the smaller bed next to mine and saw a little girl fast asleep, with her face stretched across the pillow, snoring loudly. Sally, I remembered. I was told that I would be staying with her. So that explained where I was; not that it helped ease the heaviness growing in my chest. Next to her bed was a window, still covered in early morning frost. Through it I saw that the sun had just barely began to rise, and its faint light started to fill the room. I slipped silently out of the covers, and rested my feet on the cold wooden floor. I tip toed out of the room, gently shutting the door behind me, not wanting to wake the sleeping child. Harmless as she may seem, I didn't want to find out what would happen if I woke her up this early.

The walls in the hallway were a pale creamy color, and stretched quite a while on either side of me until turning off in other directions. Small lantern-fashioned lights were mounted along the walls up near the ceiling, emitting minimal light. Wanting to explore some, I chose to go left, since going right in these situations never proved effective in the least. When I had finally reached the end of the hall, I had to make another left, since it was the only option. I soon stopped paying attention to where I was going, and just continued to wander the mansion, drifting back into my own thoughts...

That was when I heard a voice call out from behind me.

(Jack's POV)

I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. I had been laying in bed for quite some time, still trying to wrap my mind around all that had happened. Never had any human gone against the test before. I mean, there haven't been many to take the test to begin with, but it was still unusual. Slender had wanted to talk to me privately last night about it, but first I had to take the girl to Sally's room. I had to remind her not to wake Sally since she was already in bed, and all I got from her was another nod.

During my conversation with Slender, he and I had both agreed that there was definitely something different with this mortal. He said he had heard before about mortals that could somewhat resist being controlled, but never one that could do it intentionally, and with as much force as she had. I was hoping to get more information from him, but he didn't want to talk about it any further, and that was that. End of discussion. All of this and more turned over in my mind as I laid there, arms folded beneath my head.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard a noise coming from the hallway. Who could be up this early? I thought to myself. After pulling myself out of bed I crossed the room to my door, and looked through the peephole. All I caught was a glimpse of something brown and green before whoever or whatever it was moved out of my line of sight.

Probably Ben. I thought, sleepily walking back to my bed. He sometimes gets up early for his stupid online tournaments. I plopped back down onto my stomach and buried my face into the pillow. I yawned and could feel myself finally drifting off to sleep...

...wait a minute, Ben is blonde.

My eyes shot open. But then who else could be...

She's awake? I launched myself back off of the bed and ran again to the door, opening it up and peering out. And I was right; there she was, cruising down the hall at 5 in the morning like it was totally normal. I was a little shocked to see her was up so early, let alone wandering the mansion by herself. Then it hit me: if Slender Man couldn't answer my questions, then maybe she could. Well, she'd obviously be able to, since she's the one that's got everyone stumped in the first place.

"Um...hello?" I called, but she didn't seem to be paying attention, and instead turned down yet another hallway. I grabbed my black hoodie that I had hanging on a chair nearby. Throwing it on, I went back through the door and half walked, half jogged to catch up with her. I turned the corner she had gone down, only to realize that she was already coming back the way she had came. But it was too late to change course, and I smacked right into her.

"Ah shit, my bad." I groaned, pressing a hand to my nose. My nose? Oh my gosh I forgot my mask. My hands flew back and fumbled with the fabric of my hood as I pulled it over my head, although I knew my face was still clearly visible. As I tried to cover myself, the girl finally spoke:

"No, it's my fault. In the wrong lane I guess." she said with a small smile, brushing the bangs from her eyes. I noticed for the first time how pretty her eyes really were, they were bright blue.

"I wasn't really paying attention, but then I realized that someone had tried to talk to me," she explained, "and I came back, so hello." How could she be so calm right now? I was searching for words while she stood there smiling confidently. This was a completely different person than the one that had been curled up on the floor only a few hours ago.

My ears heated up as I thought again to my own now-exposed face. I also realized that I was kind of just staring at her when her when her smile grew as she looked back at me quizzically, causing my face to burn even hotter. I quickly averted my gaze away, unable to look her in the eyes again as I tried to think of something else to say back. Kind of how conversation works, you know? It was futile, trying to talk to her without my mask. I had to go and get it before things got even worse.

" I'll be right back.." I said lamely, slowly walking backwards down the hall and around the corner. I turned and made it swiftly back to my room and went straight to my nightstand, but for some reason my mask wasn't there. I always put it there, didn't I? No, not last night, I remembered. I hadn't bothered taking it off before I tried to sleep, so it must have fallen off someplace. I threw the blankets off the bed, searching through them. I was quietly cursing to myself as I looked on through drawers, clothes on the floor, the bed again, everywhere. I finally found it on the ground in my bathroom, and hurriedly put it back on. I was immediately relieved once I felt its cool, familiar surface against my skin. A loud voice suddenly echoed through the house and flooded my ears.

"Hey, what's-her-face!"

God damn it Jeff. That guy always showed up at the worse times. I hurried out the door but slowed down once I reached the corner where the two halls met, not wanting to seem too anxious by running all the way back. But when I made it to where I left her standing, she wasn't there anymore. She was much further down, being practically drug by Jeff as he lead her to someplace else. What?! All that and he just takes her away from me? Well, you know not like take her from me, but I did want to talk to her. About the test that is. Yeah, the test. I wanted-no needed to know about how the test went from her perspective, so that Slender and I could find out what was going on.

She looked back over her shoulder at me and gave another apologetic smile and shrugged her free shoulder; the one not being torn off by Jeff. My face started to burn again, but luckily she couldn't see it this time. I raised my hand to wave, but at the last second I put it behind behind my head and just nodded back, putting my other hand in my pocket.

Real smooth, Jack. Real smooth.


	7. Chapter 7

_(Jack's POV)_

I watched them until they vanished behind another corner. Letting my arms fall to my side, I let out a sigh. This was obviously going to be more difficult than I thought.

"It's painful to watch you struggle." I jumped as I spun my head around.

"Ben, when did you get here?" he shrugged his shoulders, then sprayed whipped cream into his mouth from a red can he was holding. "And why do you have that?" I asked pointing to the object in his hand. Ben shrugged again.

"Found it." he said, wiping the corner of his mouth with his thumb. This guy was going to die if he kept eating like that. All he does is eat random junk around the house all day.

"No I'm not. You know we can't die Jack." he answered, raising the can of cream to his lips.

"First of all: stop reading my mind okay? We have an agreement." Ben rolled his eyes at me. "Second: if there was any way for us to die from something like diabetes, you'd be the first to find it." I replied, pointing a finger at his chest.

"Whatever, I'm not here so you can lecture me about my diet all right? I'm here to help you with your 'problem'." he made little quotation marks with his hands at the word "problem".

"I don't have any 'problem'." I mocked his hand motions then crossed my arms. "Why were you spying on me anyway?"

"I wasn't _spying _on you," he said. " I'm sure everyone in the house heard Jeff shouting. I just came to check out what he was hollering about this time, and happened to catch that pathetic attempt of covering up a wave. Trying to play it off cool, smoothie?" Ben laughed. I, on the other hand was not at all amused.

"It wasn't that bad!" I retorted. "...Was it?"

"Yeah, it was." Ben confirmed.

"Well, what do you think went wrong then? Since your obviously the expert here." I said, my voice laced with sarcasm.

"It's hard to tell what _didn't _go wrong. You're just horrible with people; especially girls. You're just..." Ben looked up as he thought for a moment, "a socially awkward turtle."

"Awkward turtle...Thanks, that _really_ helps." I groaned, and looked back the way Jeff had gone. In a way, he was right. She didn't seem to notice that wave though, did she? She was too far down. But before I went back for my mask? That really was awful. Why was it so hard for me to talk to people without my mask on? Why did I constantly feel like I had to hide my face? It's useful for when I go out killing, but it doesn't quite fit in with everyday conversation. Maybe it wouldn't have gone any better with my mask on after all. Or maybe I was just over thinking things...

I heard a chuckle and noticed Ben was smirking at me.

"Ben stop that! We settled this before!" I had had about enough of him prying into my thoughts all of the time. He waved a dismissive hand in response.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I promised to stay out of your head if you promised not to poison me behind my back. So what if I did it this once?". He consumed yet another mouthful of whipped topping as I replied,

"If that's the way you look at it, then what makes you think that's really whipped cream you're eating?" Ben's eyes got big and he immediately spat out the contents of his mouth onto the floor.

_(The girl's POV)_

"Mind telling me where we're going?" I asked. I wasn't sure how much more my arm could take before falling out of its socket, and Jeff was showing no signs of stopping.

"Slender Man wants to see you." he responded. "Don't want to keep him waiting."

"Any reason why you're dislocating my shoulder?"

"You might try to run away." he stated. I scoffed at that.

"And where exactly would I run off to?". He abruptly stopped, causing me to stumble ahead of him when he finally released my wrist.

"Good point. Well, we're here anyway. Have fun with the big man!" Jeff called as he took off in another direction. I stood there, my sore wrist resting in my other hand as I watched him sprint out of sight. He had left me standing in front of a large wooden door, with a rusty brass handle and intricate carvings etched into the wood. This must have been Slender's room, since this was by far the tallest door in the hall. I knocked on the door a few times before stepping back and waiting patiently. When no answer came, I went to knock again, but the door suddenly swung open. Slender Man was standing on the other side, towering over me. I had to tilt my head as far back as nature would allow just to look up at his "face".

"There you are. Please come in." he said as he ushered me inside. The ceiling of the room was extremely high (of course it would be). Along each wall were seemingly endless rows of books, as well as piles of novels scattered across the room. Guess he either loves to read or has way too much free time on his hands. Probably both.

He guided me over to a cleared area of the room with a few red cushioned chairs and gestured for me to sit down. I took a seat as he did in the chair opposite of me, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

"Now, young lady-" he began.

"It's ..." I began to tell him my name, but thought better than to interrupt him and cut myself off.

"Was there something you wanted to say?" he questioned with a slight tilt of his head. I shook my head and let him continue. In all honesty, I could handle Jack's mask, and Jeff's knives, and even the faint smell of blood coming from the many rooms I had passed on my way here. But Slender Man...this guy gave me the creeps.

The faceless man continued, "Anyways, you know how you got here, correct?" I nodded.

"Splendid." he replied. I had done a lot of thinking during my morning stroll of the mansion, and that included sorting out of a lot of recent memories. They were all mixed up, and out of order, and it took me a while to piece them back together. I remembered first encountering Jack in my house, and elbowing him in the ribs when trying to escape (I should probably apologize for that later when I get the chance). Then after he stuck me with that weird green stuff, the time between me collapsing to the floor, all the way up to "waking up" was filled with a horrible fiery pain that spread throughout my entire body. I didn't black out, but the pain was so intense that it was too much to even open my eyes. I had some recollection of being lifted up, and then being moved and thrown back on a hard floor after a while. There were also the voices I had overheard in my paralyzed state. I couldn't make out the words exactly, but one of the voices sounded desperate. Arguing, maybe? About what, I had no clue.

"Do you know why we would like you to _stay _here with us?" That one, I hadn't thought much about. The thought of them actually wanting me to stay here for any long period of time didn't seem likely. I just sort of planned on doing whatever they told me to do before they finally decided to kill me at some point. Not the best plan I admit, but I wasn't left with many options.

"Can't say I do." I told him. He leaned forward in his seat, resting his chin on top of his hands.

"It is very unlikely that you'll remember any of our previous encounters in the past. When you were younger, you used to see me quite often, as many children do. It wasn't until after I had studied you for quite some time that I fully recognized your true potential as one of us." he explained. See what I'm talking about here? Stalking children? Fantasizing about turning them into murderers? If that doesn't spell out "creepy" in neon lights then I don't know what does.

"Your unique abilities intrigue me, and I wish to pick up where I left off and study you further. That is why you are still here."

"And still alive." I mumbled to myself. Slender Man gave a small nod. "Of course."

Well then.

He rose, and said "So for the time being, you will continue to stay with Sally and do as she wishes. Please try not to upset her, she has a very short temper. It would also be wise to consult with Ben during our practices. He is very skilled with telepathy and other psychological arts."

"Arts?" I asked, "And what do you mean, 'practices'?" Slender looked down at me, still seated at his feet. "I will be teaching you to control and master your powers, of course! I believe that you have a very promising future here, young lady.". That is if I live to see my future at all.

Slender continued, "At first I was a bit weary of the idea of keeping you here. We currently have no need for any more members for our...'family'. But Jack has me convinced that you will be useful when the time comes. I trust his judgment highly, so try not to disappoint any of us."  
Jack said that? Is that what I overheard when I first arrived? But why would he try so hard to keep me here?

I got to my feet and followed Slender to the door. The stacks of books on the floors were almost as hard to navigate around as the maze of hallways in this place. He opened up the large door once again and stepped back, allowing me to go through. Jeff was already waiting on the other side.

"I have asked Jeff to show you around the mansion, as he has been here with me the longest and knows it best. I would do it myself, but I have more pressing affairs to attend to." With that he turned back into his room, but before he shut the door all of the way he said over his shoulder, "And Jeff, please refrain yourself from killing her.". Then he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

(The girl's POV)

This mansion proved to be much more confusing than I had anticipated. Jeff had agreed not to tear my arm off during the brief tour, but I had to walk at a fast pace in order to match his long strides. He showed me where the bathrooms were, all the random old junk that Slender liked to keep in the attic, and the various torture devices that were kept in the basement. He even went the extra mile and explained how some of the...very unique pieces of equipment worked. He had also boasted about how many of the contraptions were inventions of his very own; he seemed to take a lot of pride in his work. That didn't surprise me at all, honestly.

The tour ended at the main living room right next to the kitchen, where I now was. Jeff had gotten bored of me again and left me here by myself. I was fine with that-I spent a lot of time on my own anyways. I rested on the sofa, head dangling over the side as my legs were propped up against the back, feet kicking in the air; there was nothing else better for me to do. I didn't know where Sally was (whom I am supposed to entertain), or anyone else for that matter. I also wasn't entirely sure how to get back to the room her and I were sharing, and I wasn't too keen on getting myself lost in the halls.. again. It was my first day here, and I didn't want to ruin my chances of earning anyone's respect by roaming around the building like a lost puppy. So, I continued to sit there, with my eyes shut, contemplating on why I was even sitting like this in the first place.

I was brought back to reality when I heard a sarcastic voice in front of me say, "Are you having fun?" I opened my eyes to see a boy with blonde hair, wearing along green shirt standing in front of me with his head tilted to the side; I assumed this must be Ben.

"Yes. Yes I am." I replied.

"Alright then." he turned on the TV a few feet away and plopped down on the opposite end of the couch. The screen started out dark, then fog began to roll in from the sides as a symbol of a dragon appeared. I smiled as the opening music began to play.

Ben noticed this and asked "Ever play Skyrim?" I responded with "of course" Ben grinned and he started the game.

(Ben's POV)

Her and I ended up playing Skyrim for quite a while; technically, I was the only one playing, but the girl's commentary would suggest otherwise. It amazed me how much she got into the game. She'd shout words of encouragement during every battle, and slander every bandit/creature/villager that would so much as look at us the wrong way.

"Mind if I get something to drink?" she asked after some time had passed.

"Sure, there should be some sodas in the fridge." I said.

She responded with "Excellent.", then she got up and walked around the couch over to the kitchen. I heard her open up the door to the refrigerator and move some stuff around on the shelves.

"Wow, you guys have _a lot_ of cheesecake in here." She called from the other room.

"Is that a problem?" I yelled back. She walked back into the room holding two cans of pop in her hands. "It's fantastic." she said as she tossed a can to me.

"Oh, thanks." I caught projectile and opened it up, filling the room with a loud popping sound.

She sat back down-right side up this time-and was quite until a guard in the game dropped a rude comment to the character as they passed by.

"You should go back and fight him." She said.

"We can't fight him, he's a city guard. We'd get in trouble."

"So? He's being a jerk! You're just going to let him disgrace your family name like that? _There is honor is at stake here_."

I couldn't help but laugh at her sudden seriousness. Some of the others in the mansion believed that letting his human girl stay with us wasn't a very good decision on Slender's part, but I was actually having a lot of fun with her. No one else in the house really liked to play video games. Jeff or Jack would occasionally, but they'd either have no clue what they were supposed to do, or would just get frustrated and rage quit. Her and I had actually gotten a lot closer over the course of a few hours, and I had learned a lot about her. Except for one thing...

"Hey, speaking of names, what's yours? You haven't told anyone in the house yet." I said facing her. She turned to me and smiled.

"My name is Sovi."

"It's-what?"

"_So-vi_!" She drew out.

"What kind of a name is that?" I smirked. She rolled her eyes at me.

"It's my name! I didn't get to choose it!" Holding up my hands defensively, I said, "Alright, alright! It's actually a pretty cool name." She blushed but said nothing, and we returned our attention to the TV. It was at about that time when Jack came into the living room.

"Hey, Ben, Jeff wanted me to ask if you knew where..." he trailed off as he noticed Sovi sitting next to me on the couch.

"Oh, hello...again."

"Hello." She smiled brightly and waved. He just kind of nodded back. Oh my gosh, he really is terrible with people.

"So, what did Jeff want?" I asked him, trying to avoid the awkward silence he would surely create. He turned his head back towards me.

"Right, Jeff can't find his whetstone to sharpen his knives and wanted to know if you knew where it was." Jack said.

"Did he check the basement?" I asked.

"Jeff said he did."

"That's where it was last time."

"He said he already looked."

"That's also what he said the last time he lost it, and we all went down there with him and it was right on the table where he'd left it."

"That's what I told him too, but he insists it isn't there."

I raised my hands in a shrug. "He always thinks that I have something to do with the random disappearance of his stuff. How am I supposed to know where it is?"

"I don't know! Just help him look for it!"

"Why is it always me? You look for it!"

"I helped him last time!"

"We _all_ helped last time! Tell Jeff to just use his other whetstone." Jack groaned in annoyance and crossed his arms.

"He can't find that one either." My face fell into one of my hands. It never ceased to amaze me how often Jeff lost his things. First it's his whetstone, then it'll be his favorite scalpel, and then he'll be tearing the place apart looking for his only pair of boots that I have no clue how he misplaces constantly. I looked to Sovi beside me, who had been sitting quietly the whole time, swinging her legs since they didn't reach the floor.

I took a deep breath. "Jack, you aren't busy, just help Jeff find it. Take him down to the basement again and if it really isn't there, I'll help you guys look."

"Oh really? I'm not busy?" he said disbelievingly. "How do you know that I don't have anything important to do?"

"Well, I'm in the middle of something here." I said, gesturing towards the TV.

"And _I'm_ in the middle of helping Slender Man prepare another mission to expand our territory. Not wasting my day away playing stupid games with some mortal!" he quipped back, throwing his arms up to emphasize. He slowly lowered his hands when he realized what he had said. We both focused our attention to Sovi, not knowing how she'd react to the sudden insult.

Her feet had stopped moving, but she didn't speak. She simply lifted her head up and met Jack's eyes. She didn't say anything, or move, or blink. She just stared at him without any sign of emotion on her face. For a while no one said anything. I could sense Jack getting uncomfortable, but he didn't look away. Sovi still did nothing but hold him place with her eyes, her gaze unwavering. I started to feel a bit panicked; was she trying to do to Jack what she did to me during the test? I actually couldn't remember the details of how she managed to pull off that stunt the first time, but I do remember quite clearly the amount of pain that came as a result.

Finally, without breaking eye contact, she said "Check Slender's study, I think I saw it when I was there earlier." She stood, then turned to me and said with a smile "This was a lot of fun Ben, but I'm going to go look for Sally now. I'll see you later." Her smile was gone the instant she turned back around, and she didn't give Jack another glance as he watched her walk directly pass him and out of the room.

(Sovi's POV)

Was this the way to Sally's room? I could've sworn it was. After I passed the dining room with Jeff he went back right…no, left. No, it was right, wasn't it? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was. I tried to pay attention to where we were going so that I could find my way back, but Jeff was moving fast and it was hard to keep up. Every room and hallway looked the same in this house, so that didn't help. I eventually found my way back to Sally's room, but when I reached it, she wasn't there. I was about to continue my search when I heard shouting coming from my right.

"Jeff! Give it back!" a girl's voice shrieked. Jeff's laughter echoed down the corridor before he rounded the corner towards me, followed by a very angry looking little girl in a pink dress.

"Jeff!" she yelled again, "I'm gonna tell Slender!"

"Go ahead! Then you'll never see this again!" he shouted back, waving a small teddy bear in the air above him. So this is that the killer does in his spare time; he steals toys from children. I was able to reach out and snag the doll back as he zoomed past me. He skidded to a stop and immediately turned around to glare at me.

"Hey! I had that!" he yelled.

"Yes, you did." I handed the bear back to Sally once she reached me and she hugged it against her chest "And now you don't." I crossed my arms as Jeff stormed over and quickly invaded my personal space.

"I was just playing around with her; give it back." He demanded. I've had a lot of experience dealing with fighting children, which is exactly what this situation was playing out to be.

So I said, "Now Jeff, don't you think you're getting a little too old to be playing with dolls?" as I looked up at him. He was a lot taller than me, but I wasn't going to just let him intimidate me into doing anything he said. Homey don't play that. "Besides," I reminded him, "don't you also have a whetstone to find?"

"I've looked all over for it. It's gotta be in the humans' world or something. Now give me the bear." He held his hand out expectantly.

"So you're sure you've looked everywhere?" He nodded.

"Not a single room you can think of that you might have overlooked? Searched every nook and cranny?"

"Yes! Every room, even the basement! Now hand over the toy!" the killer said impatiently.

"You sure? It could be anywhere, maybe even somewhere like Slender Man's room...?" Jeff dropped his hand and leaned back out of my face. My smile only grew at his reaction.

"There we go, all coming back now! You can have fun digging through all of his books, and Sally and I will just be off." I made a move to turn towards Sally, but Jeff had the collar of my hoodie in his hands in a second as he looked me dead in the eyes.

His voice dropped dangerously low. "Think you're some kind of wise guy, huh newbie?" Now this was the Jeff I had been expecting to see. From the looks of it, I could see that I'd be bringing out this side of him often. The way he towered over me made my heart pound faster in my chest, and that murderous glare made me all but jump out of my skin. This was someone who'd taken countless victims' lives without a second thought, and would gladly add me to his growing list of kills if I gave him enough reason to. Every aspect of him terrified me, but I refused to let him know that he scared me, even the slightest. So, I put on an easy going expression, choked down my anxiety, and cleared all emotion from my eyes.

"The only thing I can think about is how glad I am that you've stopped shouting." Jeff gave me nothing but a confused look, so I continued. "I was afraid that you'd run out of hot air, but I realize now that won't ever be a problem." Jeff furrowed his eyebrows together and pressed his mouth into a firm line; his hands stayed in place. He remained still, his eyes the only things moving; studying my face.

He nodded sharply. "You'll do." He then let go of my shirt and quickly walked off out of sight without another word. Once he was gone, I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding in. I remembered that Sally had been standing next to us the entire time, and directed my attention towards her.

"You must be Sally! I'm Sovi." I smiled, bending down to her height. She answered with a bright smile of her own "You're the one that Slender gave me to play with?" she asked enthusiastically. Well, yes. I was, but it was still weird to hear out loud. I nodded at the young girl.

"That I am!" She smiled even brighter.

"I knew he'd get me a new one! Come on, let's go play outside!" Sally brushed a few dark tangled knots of hair out of her face before taking my hand and leading me back downstairs.

AN/ I've added a couple chapters together so that this would have more content in order to make up for the lack of updates. Thanks a bunch to those of you who've stuck around this long! Feel free to leave a review, I'm always interested in what y'all have to say. I am very tired.


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